[Reprinted from The Richmond Police Station Newsletter of November 16, 2012. To be added to the station’s mailing list, email sfpd.richmond.station@sfgov.org.]

CAPTAIN SHARON FERRIGNO’S MESSAGE
I have included in this week’s newsletter a press release (below) from our Media Relations Unit. Please take time to review it as it is a helpful tool for both citizens and police to combat and reduce crime.

The primary mission of the San Francisco Police Department is to reduce crime and the fear of crime. We believe that we can best accomplish this goal through crime prevention. Thefts of electronic devices, such as smart phones, tablet and laptop computers accounts for a significant amount of reported crimes. The intrinsic value of these devices make them an attractive item for thieves to steal, who in turn, pawn the items or offer them for sale on the Internet. However, if we were able to devalue those items by making them worthless on the black market, we believe that we can accomplish our mission to reduce crime and the fear of crime.

Therefore, as part of the San Francisco Police Department’s Safe Shoppers strategy we would like to encourage everyone to take advantage of a free service provided by Leads On-line. Leads On-line is the nation’s largest online investigative database that is used by more than 4,000 law enforcement agencies to recover stolen property and solve property crimes. Here’s how Leads On-line can help:

1) “Report It” – is a service that Leads On-line offers that allows citizens to enter the serial numbers, photographs, item descriptions or scanned receipts of all of their items of value directly into the Lead’s database free of charge. This would allow law enforcement to locate any of their stolen items if someone attempted to pawn the items in any pawn shop nationwide.

2) “eBay searches” – Leads On-line has partnered with eBay in order to prevent thieves from using eBay to offer stolen items for sale. eBay automatically uploads all of its transactions into the Lead’s database. This service prevents illegal transactions on the eBay website and it will help law enforcement identify the criminals responsible for the thefts.

On Wednesday, November 28, 2012, the members of Richmond Station will be hosting the Police Commission Community meeting here in the Richmond District. It will be held at Roosevelt Middle School, 460 Arguello Blvd at 6:00pm. The Commissioners will hear comments from the public and me concerning public protection issues. Parking is available on the Palm Ave side of the school. There are several MUNI lines in the vicinity, including the 38 Geary, 1 California , 2 Clement and the 31 Balboa.

Our regularly scheduled monthly community meeting will not be held this month as a result of the Police Commission meeting.

NOTEWORTHY ARRESTS
On 11/09/12 at 4:25pm, officers received a call of a robbery that just occurred at 31st and Geary in an apartment complex. One of the suspects was a new acquaintance to the victim, the second suspect was unknown. The first suspect was armed with a knife, the second with handgun, which turned out to be a pellet gun. The victim’s laptop was taken from him and the suspects fled in a cab. The cab was located traveling east on Fulton and pulled over by officers on Fulton at Parker Ave. The suspects were taken into custody and the victim’s property was recovered. The suspects, a 60 year old male and a 33 year old male were charged with robbery, burglary and possession of stolen property.

On 11/12/12 at 3am, officers were called to the 3500 block of Balboa on a report of a male who had just broken out a window of a business. The caller saw the suspect enter the business and provided a description to the 911 dispatcher. The caller then saw the suspect flee north on 38th Ave towards Anza. Officers searched the area and located the suspect on the 800 block of 38th Ave. A cash register from the business was located nearby. The 48 year old male was charge with burglary.

On 11/13/12 at 6:45am, the victim and her young son were standing on the corner of Geary and 9th Ave , waiting to cross the street. The victim noticed the suspect standing behind her and he suddenly grabbed her purse and fled west on Geary Bl to 10th Ave. This was witnessed by several citizens in the area, along with persons in their vehicles stopped at the red light. Several gave chase as the suspect turned and now went south on 10th Ave across Geary Blvd and over a fence at the mortuary. The citizens covered both sides of the lot that the suspect entered and when he came over the other side of the fence he threw the purse to the ground. The purse was given back to the victim and officers arrived and took the 18 year old suspect into custody.

On 11/14/12 at 8:10pm, officers were patrolling the area of JFK Drive and the Great Highway when they observed the suspect riding a moped on the sidewalk. They also saw that the suspect did not have the head light on. Officers stopped to speak with him and determined that the moped was stolen. The 35 year old male, who is also on probation for burglary was charged for stolen auto. The moped was returned to its owner.

NOTEWORTHY INCIDENTS
On 11/11/12 at 9:54am, the victim walked into the lobby area of her building and saw the front door wide open. As she entered the garage, she saw the suspect standing there with a suitcase in his hand. The suspect mentioned something about “Tom” and the “49ers” and left out the back door. The victim then saw that items, including an iPod and GPS had been taken from her vehicle. The suspect was described as a white male, 40 years, with gray hair, wearing a blue and gray jacket, blue jeans and pulling a black duffle bag on wheels.

Between 11/10/12, 5pm and 11/11/12, 4am on the 3600 block of California St, a suspect gained entry into a building by removing a skylight. The suspect then lowered a ladder into the building and forced open a drawer in one of the offices. The suspect took cash.

Between 11/10/12, 7pm and 11/11/12, 4pm on the 700 block of 26th Ave , a suspect took a bike from a garage. There were no signs of forced entry.

On 11/11/12 at 6:25am, the resident of a home on the 600 block of 23rd Ave woke to a sound at his front door. As he went to his door he observed a 3 inch hole just above the lock cylinder. He peered out the hole and could see the suspect standing on the other side of the door. He yelled out and the suspect fled south on 23rd Ave. The victim also found a new hole on his side door. The suspect was described as a white male, 18-25 years, wearing a black hat and dark clothes.

On 11/14/12 at 5pm, a resident of an apartment building on the 600 block of 33rd Ave came home and found his bike, along with another tenants, in the lobby. The victim knew that the bikes should have been in the garage and waited in the lobby for whoever was currently trespassing in the garage to come out. Within a minute the suspect walked out from the garage into the lobby where the victim tried to detain him. They “wrestled” momentarily, but the suspect was able to flee. The suspect was described as a black male, 30-40 yrs, wearing a black sweater, blue jeans and silver framed prescription glasses.

On 11/14/12 at 11pm, the victims boarded a 38 Geary MUNI bus from downtown, heading out to the Richmond District. The victims observed the suspects on the bus as well. The victims exited the bus at Geary and 9th Ave about 11:30pm with the suspects also getting off. The victims crossed the street, followed by the suspects, who walked up to the victims and demanded money. One of the suspects had his hand in his waistband insinuating he had a gun. The victim told the suspect that he had only $3.00 and showed him his wallet. The suspect became angry and turned his attention to the second victim, threatening her. Both victims ran to 11th and Geary, were at the restaurant it was well lit and had several people in the area. The victims did not see which direction the suspects fled. The suspects were described as Hispanic males, one 25-30 years, with heavy acne, wearing a black beanie, black hooded sweatshirt and light blue jeans. The other, 20-25, was wearing a white t-shirt and had long hair.

On 11/15/12 at 2am, the victims were sitting in their vehicle on the Great Highway near Balboa St . The suspects pulled up in their vehicle and parked directly behind the victim’s blocking them in. The passenger in the suspect’s vehicle walked up to the driver’s side of the victim’s vehicle and pointed a handgun at the occupants. The suspect ordered the victims out of their vehicle and after they exited, the suspect drove off with their car north on the Great Highway . The suspect was described as a black male, 28 years, wearing a black t-shirt and black jeans. The driver of the suspect’s vehicle was also a black male wearing a black beanie and black shirt. The suspect’s vehicle was described as a silver sedan, possibly a Toyota Camry. The victim’s vehicle is a silver Mitsubishi.